Medical Career India

New Zealand

Registration in a general scope — NZREX, PLAB, and the comparable health system route.

Last verified 10 September 2026

Regulator
Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) — official site
Route for an Indian MBBS graduate
Several pathways lead to registration in a general scope of practice. The examinations pathway is open to candidates who have passed NZREX Clinical, or both parts of PLAB, within the past five years. Other pathways cover UK and Irish graduates who interned there, doctors with recent experience in a comparable health system, Australian general registrants, and UK general registrants.
Examinations
  • NZREX Clinical, or PLAB parts 1 and 2 — passed within the past five years
  • Comparable health system pathway: open to applicants with recent experience in a comparable health system
  • UK general registrants: PLAB, twelve months of UK practice and full GMC registration
Credential verification
Primary source verification of qualifications through EPIC, via MyIntealth.

PLAB is accepted here as well as in the UK, which makes the UK route worth costing as two destinations rather than one. Note the five-year window: a PLAB pass that has aged out for New Zealand may still be current for other purposes.

Sources

  1. MCNZ — Pathways to registration in a general scope primary retrieved 10 Sep 2026
  2. MCNZ — Primary source verification of qualifications (EPIC via MyIntealth) primary retrieved 10 Sep 2026
  3. MCNZ — Examinations registration pathway (NZREX Clinical) primary retrieved 10 Sep 2026